The North West Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure together with various government departments let by the South African Police Service (Saps) are ready to ensure that the State of the Province Address (Sopa), which is expected to be tabled by Premier Bushy Maape, on February 24 in the Legislature Chamber at 10am is safe and secure.
The anticipated address comes after Maape’s remarks about the state of road infrastructure in the province during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate speech which raised some eyebrows when he said there were no potholes in the North West Province.
“I travel from Mahikeng to Rustenburg. I travel from Mahikeng to Klerksdorp, I travel from Mahikeng to Schweizer-Reneke and I do not hit any potholes,” he said.
Maape came under fire for his speech with some residents taking it to social media to express their dissatisfaction and anger at him and complaining about the deteriorating state of roads in the province and in South Africa as a whole.
The expectations from Sopa include a plan to improve infrastructure including road maintenance; the government’s commitment to deliver services, especially water, grow the economy and create jobs.
The spokesperson for the police in the province, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said law enforcement and safety officers will be deployed to all key areas.
“The officers will be deployed to all main roads leading into Mahikeng and areas which include the Mega City, government offices, the North West University, Courts and the Parliament Precinct. Normal daily activities will not be affected by the security arrangements,” he said.
Traffic volumes and road closures in some areas will have an impact on road traffic and the police have asked for complete cooperation from motorists and pedestrians.
“We ask the public to take note of the regulated or restricted access into certain roads. Police and the traffic will be on site to redirect road users to alternative streets” he added.
The following streets will be affected:
- Nelson Mandela Drive and William Dick Street
- Nelson Mandela Drive and Aerodrome Crescent
- Nelson Mandela Drive and Sekame Street
- Nelson Mandela Drive and Albert Luthuli Drive
- Dr Albert Luthuli Drive and Dr James Moroka Drive
- Dr James Moroka Drive and Hector Petersen Street
Mokgwabone also highlighted that security forces will not hesitate to act on criminality and urged members of the community to abide by the law.
